Fabric Destroying Insects, Panama City, FL -Arrow Pest Service

Florida homeowners beware!

A nefarious force could be targeting your clothes, furniture, and even your rugs! The threat in question is not that of thievery, but rather pest activity.

There are a variety of different pests that can target fabrics and natural fibers in your home, and they can quickly cause significant damage to priceless, irreplaceable items. Two of the most destructive and most common pests of this type are the clothes moth and the carpet beetle.

Carpet Beetles:

If you are seeing groups of small, furry worms around your home, you may be dealing with a carpet beetle infestation. Carpet beetles are known to cluster around baseboards and other low-lying areas. These spaces give them easy access to a variety of carpets and other natural and synthetic fibers that can provide them sustenance.

As adults, carpet beetles are relatively harmless. They consume pollen to survive and cannot cause any direct damage to your home or property. However, carpet beetle larvae are a different story.

Carpet beetle larvae have a voracious appetite and will seek out food sources in the home which provide them the nutrients they need to grow. The larvae can consume a variety of common household items, including:

Carpets, both organic and synthetic

Persian Rugs

Silk, leather, and wool

Grains such as rice or wheat

Certain synthetic fibers

Carpet beetle larvae do not cause rapid damage to the items that they consume. However they often target items that are difficult or impossible to repair, and many times they feed in areas that are secluded and out of sight. As such, an infestation can spread in secret for months, leaving behind significant and sometimes irreparable damage to items in your home.

Clothes Moths:

Much like the carpet beetle, adult clothes moths are not a threat to your home. Instead, the caterpillars of this species subsist off of the keratin found in many natural fibers as well as stored food sources. This can create a double threat, both to your wardrobe and carpets as well as your pantry and kitchen.

Clothes moths have a preference for secluded, moist environments. This makes them right at home here in the humid southeast. These pests are different from other moth species due to their small size (around 1-2cm in length) and their preference for low-light conditions. While most moths have a strong attraction to light sources, clothes moths will more often be found in the dark corners of rooms.

Adult moths leave behind eggs in areas with optimum environmental conditions for caterpillar development. These pests will feed and grow into adulthood over an average of two months. During this time, they will almost continuously feed on any available sources. While they are not particularly picky, the larvae have a preference for fibers and fabrics that have residue of oils and sweat from humans and pets.

Much like carpet beetles, clothes moth larvae can contaminate and damage fibers in your home, leaving you with frustration and expense.

Protecting your home from fiber and fabric destroying pests:

Naturally, no responsible homeowner wants to deal with the threat of these and other pests. The most effective way to keep clothes moths and carpet beetles out of your home is to have regularly scheduled inspections performed by a licensed pest control expert. A trained technician can identify signs of pest activity and create an effective pretreatment plan to stop pests BEFORE they can damage your belongings!

At Arrow Pest Service, our team of technicians is trained to deal with any pest problem you might encounter. We will perform an inspection and identify any pest problems or conditions conducive to infestation around the home. If we find any pests in the home, we will provide you with the most efficient, safe, and effective solutions in the industry!

Here’s to YOU living pest free!

So if you have a pest problem, or simply a question, call us today at 850-874-1900! We will be happy to help you in any way that we can!